Machine which fills groups of containers, a group at a time, with conveyer which stops during filling operation



Feb. 5, 1952 J. 1.. FERGUSON E IAL 2,584338 MACHINE WHICH FILLS GROUPS OF CONTAINERS, A

GROUP AT A TIME, WITH CONVEYER WHICH STOPS DURING FILLING OPERATION Original Filed April 12, 1943 2 SHEETSSHEET l H ,1 ,q a n a H tF -F Q 7,4 73 iff:

2 Si-IEETS-SHEET 2 J. L. FERGUSON ET AL MACHINE WHICH FILLS GROUPS OF CONTAINERS, A GROUP AT A TIME, WITH CONVEYER WHICH STOPS DURING FILLING OPERATION "In in Feb. 5, 1952 Original Filed April 12, 1943 INVENTOR5Z KW Patented Feb. 5, 1952 UNITED MACHINE WHICH FILLS GROUPS OF CON- TAINERS, A GROUP AT A TIME, WITH CONVEYER WHICH STOPS DURING FILL- ING OPERATION John L. Ferguson and Richard C. Talbot, Joliet, Ill., assignors to J. L. Ferguson Company, Joliet, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Original application April 12, 1943, Serial Nor 482,734. Divided and this application April 8, 1947, Serial No. 740,146

Claims. (ol- 226 95') This invention relates to container conveyor mechanism for container-filling machines or the like whereby the empty containers, which may be in groups, are brought to the filling station of the machine and when filled are carried away from the station.

This application is a division of our application Serial No. 482,734, filed April 12, 1943, for Weighing and Filling Machine.

Such machines are used particularly for filling containers, cartons orpackages with fragile flake materials, such as cereals, soap (flakes, granules, powder) [etc., ground or pulverized products, such {as cornmeal, cornstarch, grits, barley or the like, and other comminuted or particulated materials.

Such containers most often are of paper or other light material, the product with which they are filled may require packing or compression within the containers by packing plungers from above at the filling station, and the conditions may make it desirable that the containers be handled and filled in single row groups of a plurality of containers, as many as eight being so accommodated in the mechanism disclosed in the present application.

Objects of the present invention are, severally, to provide a suitable conveyor mechanism for carrying the empty containers in upright posi tion to the filling station of the machine, stopping and solidly supporting the same during the filling operation, and then carrying the filled containers out of the filling station and machine,

all without, harm or damage to the containers,- without tipping them over or spilling their contents, and in suitable timed relation with the other mechanism of the filling machine; tov provide a suitable endless-belt conveyor for so carrying the containers and gradually starting and stopping the same, so that the packages or contai'ners are not mutilated. thereby or tipped over thereon; to provide the belt with. a friction drive pulley to gradually start and stop: the. same in the manner indicated; to provide the beltwith a solid support or bed at the filling station to hold the containers at proper upright; position during filling and to receive the packing thrust of the packing plungers, 'if same be used, or other weight imposed; on the packages; to providexsuch bed-throughout the container-carryin fli ht; of; the belt to. tend to. maintain the, con tainers. upright position laterally and suitably to. supportithe. belt on the bed of the fillin machine; to.- provide. means,v preferably in: th

form. of; star wheels and dropspouts accurately j 2 j and definitely to ensure the positioning of the containers in the filling position and to assist intiming them in their movements; and to provide a power-driven roller for the tops of the il'jiontainers as they issue from theffillingl osi- 1011.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the description and claims to follow, in connection with the accompanying drawings showing. by way of illustration but not of limitation, a conveyor and associated parts embodying the invention, and. so much of the machine of the said parent application as is thought necessary or desirable to show the application of the invention thereto; and in which drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the conveyor mechanism and lower part of the machine to which it isapplied; l r

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, the upper part-of the structure of Fig. 1 being omitted and the conveyor belt being broken away to show the mechanismbeneath;

Fig. 3 is a central vertical cross section of the machine on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a similar cross-sectional view taken on plane 4-4 of Fig. 1 through the main drive shaft of the machine;

Fig. 5 is a perspective schematic or diagrammatic view of the main clutch control of the machine;

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view of theconveyor belt starting and stopping elements, including the cam;

Fig. 6A is a similarview of the drop spout operating elements which involve the other face of the conveyor belt cam; and

Fig. 7' is a view similar to Fig. 5 but of the star wheel control elements.

The filling machineshown in the drawings has a solid supporting framework consisting, of a rectangular bed table frame with two hollow cylindrical posts II, II extending upwardly from midway of the two side members of the bed. The machinery and other parts are all supported directly or indirectly by this framework, the electric driving motor, operating cams, gearing, etc., being located in the bed, the belt conveyor I! for the containers being supported over the bed frame longitudinally thereof and between the. posts ll, and the weighing and filling mechanism (notshown) being at and around the tops; of the posts.

The containers M, which in. this instance are round in; cross section, are brought into. the. machine and taken out again bythe conveyor. belt 12. It is arranged gradually to come to a stop at the filling position and to remain standing while the containers are being filled, the containersresting thereon during filling, and gradually to start up again when the filling and packing have been completed, to carry the filled containers out of the machine, all without tipa ping the containers or spilling the contents thereof or damaging the containers. As seen in Fig. l, the conveyor belt [2 passes over idler pulleys l5 at the very ends of the machine, the containers l4 resting or standing on end on and being carried side by side by the upper horizontal flight of the belt.

The lower flight of the conveyor belt is carried nearly around the driving belt wheel or pulley it, which is continuously power-operated, and over a couple of idler pulleys H and [8 (Fig. 1), the latter being cam-operated to tighten or loosen the belt around the drive pulley and thereby permit the belt gradually to start and stop, whereby to prevent mishandling of the containers in the starting and stopping and during the filling and packing periods. The horizontal or upper flight of the conveyor belt is supported on a bed formed by the fiat web of an inverted channel beam 19, which is raised above the table 10 of the machine by U-brackets 2B bolted to the end members of the table ID, the upper ends of the I legs of the brackets 20 being bolted through suitable spacing blocks to the edge flanges of the belt bed channel l9. This gives room for the return flight of the belt above the bottom table Ill and for any other parts therebetween. The. end pulleys or rollers l5 are journaled in suitable adjustable brackets secured to the ends of this belt channel I9.

Guide rails 22 for the sides of the containers may be suitably supported near the tops and bottoms of the containers vM by vertical members 23 riveted or otherwise suitably secured to the rails and to the edge flanges of the belt bed channel IS. The containers l4 readily and freely pass along this runway between the side rails 22, the runway, conveyor belt, etc., being shown broken off'at the left in Fig. 1, that is, at the container intake end of the machine, which maybe as long as desired. In the particular machine depicted in the drawings, it preferably is long enough at least to accommodate eight empty containers to the left of the filling position for the containers.

The containers are thus moved into and out of the filling position of the machine, the same being carried all the time on the belt conveyor. The belt conveyor is started and stopped properly to bring eight empty containers into filling position and at the same time to carry out from the machine the eight filled and packed containers. The conveyor belt thus stops for the filling and packing period, during which time the containers remain at rest upon the belt. This is all carried out in timed relation to the filling operations of the apparatus above by the mechanismin the bed of the machine, but since the containers depend merely upon their frictional contact with the belt for their propulsion through the machine, and yet must be accurately positioned for filling and packing through the drop spouts, etc., above, suitable control star wheels 25 are provided at the entrance and at the exit of the filling position. There are preferably two of these star wheels at each end, one above the other, on a single shaft and vertically positioned to engage the sides of the containers near the bottom and a little above the center. They, of course, are positioned at the side of the runway for the containers, and their peripheral recesses accommodate the curved sides of the containers, as seen in plan in Fig. 2.

There are eight of these container recesses in the periphery of each star wheel in this particular machine, so that one revolution of the star wheel will pass eight containers in the runway and on the conveyor belt. Furthermore, the mechanism is such that these star wheels are stopped at each revolution when the containers are in proper position for filling, but they are freed when the belt starts up. In this way and with the drop spouts thecontainers are accu rately positioned in the, filling station.

A power-driven roller 26 (Fig. 1) engages the tops of the containers as they emerge from the filling and packing position to insure that the containers emerge properly from the machine even though some sort of stopping or interruption may occur in the production line after they leave this machine. This roller is driven continuously by the inclined shaft 21 from the mechanism in the base of the machine, as hereinafter explained.

The containers l4 when in filling position on the conveyor belt are suitably and simultaneously filled from the material delivery spouts 23 above, into which the material to. be packaged is emptied from the corresponding weighing buckets (not shown)of the machine. There are in this machine eight of these delivery spouts 28 rigidly held in line over the filling position and containers when in filling position, by cast rings 29 which are all secured together and in place by a bar 39 on each side of the group of spouts 28. Each bar 30 is in turn secured to the vertical post ll of the machine on the corresponding side of the spouts by a pair of diagonal braces 3i reaching from the post I I to the bars 38 near their ends. The spouts 28 are thus held rigidly to their positions. 1

The power-driven roller 26, above referred to, is supported by brackets 32 secured one to each bar 30, as indicated.

On the lower ends of these fixed spouts 28 are drop spouts 33 which are cast-metal sleeves slidable thereon for a short vertical distance to extend the delivery spouts actually into the upper ends of the containers. The lower edge of the drop spout is in the form of a tapered ring 34, tapered on the outside, which is adapted to enter the open end of the container slightly and enough to definitely locate the containers in the filling position on the conveyor and hold them from lateral displacement and in proper position for filling. After the filling is completed and the packing plungers 2| (shown in dotted lines), if used, have entered through the fixed and drop spouts suitably to pack the material in the cans and have withdrawn, the drop spouts are lifted sufificiently to clear the containers and permit them to be moved out of the filling position and empty containers brought in.

These drop spouts 33 are all secured together, like the supporting sleeves 29, by side bars 35 in side grooves in the drop spouts, all being bolted together as a unit and all being raised and lowered together by a couple of vertical rods 36 secured at their upper ends, as shown, to the adjacent side bar at 31. The upper ends of said rods 36 may reciprocate through suitable guide lugs (not shown) secured to the bars 30 just above.

The lower ends of said rods 36 are secured to thaendsofi thehorizontalzmemben 38 ofiaoam voice. which: together. with: a suitable: cam1onithe camshaftand other parts; in the baseof the machine serve to move the. drop spouts up and -down;suflicientiy'fontheirpurpose andt'm proper timedi relation, as" will be explained;

The packing plungers 2.1 (indicatedin dotted lines); are securedtogether; in the: upper partof the machine (notshownt) and'iarezmoyable-up;and down 13.81 3; groupthrough the, .fixecl: spouts: and drop spouts. and: uponthe material; in the containers when the; drop: spouts are: dQWI'li and. engaging-:the.-containers-.. This. timing'andssequence are likewise takenccare: of by the cams; etc; in therbase of-the. machine, asrwillrhe explained-so far as may be necessary or desiredifor, the present application;

Referring to:Figs-.. 1. andy2, the; driving electric motor 40 is connectedi along'belt H1 with. a

pulley on shaft. 42.: at: tho'otherr endof thetable base. i This shaft, through; the small gear pinion .43" on its: opposite end,. drives. the larger-gear .44 mounted: on the driving: shaftwhich parallels shaft 42. When the motor 40 is running; there fore, shaft-42;. gear 44 andi-shaftAEf are. running A clutch-4i connects theshaft lfijwith a sleeve 48 on; the. shaft, which carries at its oppositeend a gear; pinion. 4.9 meshing with. a. large gear and crank disc efl on the maincam shaft 5:! of the machine. The cam shaft 51-, therefore, rotates only when the clutchv 4!- connects. the-sleeve,-48 to the drlveshaft 45 in rotatable. relation.

Theclutch 41, generallyknown as a-dog clutch, is of that typehaving an inside dogor pin with a projecting; lug; 52, which, when engagedby the pawl or arm 53-from the outside, frees "the clutch and sleeve from the shaft45, but when .the. arm or. pawl. 53 is lifted out and away from. the lug 52, the clutch pinrotates and connects the clutch and. sleeve for rotation of the parts with the shaft 45-.

This pawl or arm 53is mounted on small-shaft 54, which has a hand lever 55-011 each end and at each: side of the bed 10 of the machine. By these hand levers, therefore, or either ofthem, the cam shaft 5! and thecamsthereon can be started and stopped as desired. The construc tionand arrangement, of these starting. andstopping levers-Siland their, associated partsaresuch that" they will remain in. either extreme position until manually movedtherefrom.

Theclutch 41, in the construction.herev shown, makes about six revolutions to one. of. the wheel and of the cam shaft 5|. The latter should be stopped onlywhen, for example, the packing plungers are in the upper part of their stroke and out of the way of the other parts. But. the clutch 41 couldbestopped atany, of its six revolutions instead of at the particular-one corresponding to the upperposition ofthe plunger-s, exceptfor the. feature now to 'be'describedl The hand leyer'shaft 54 (Fig. 5) has an arm 56- connected by bent link 51 with the lower arm of anglelever 58 j-ournaled in. a bearing-on thev top flange of one of the twechannel bars extendin longitudinally of the bed of the; table. Therother arm-cf; thisanglelever :5.8.-has:a.cam1ro11en adap edl under-certain conditionsto. bear on: the outer rim or: periphery of camdisc 5.9 onthecamshaft 5! This dischas a. depression ellsinitsperipheral cam trackinto which'the. roller drops .and;permi:ts arm 53. on. hand lever shafti l to. drop into position: to. strike the clutch lug 52 when it comes around to it in its next rotation and thereby to throw out the clutchdl.

This occurs;when the-packing plungers 2,!v are in the upper part of their strokeybutatz other times; if: the hand lever hasbeen moved to. stop the; machine; the; cam: roller: of lever; 58- rides: on the other and raised partiof the-periphery of the cam disc- 59. and prevents the arm or dog5'3: on shaft 5. 5 from dropping into the path of the clutch lug: Also, whenthehandleveris pulled entirely .backto free the dog 52 from the clutch, as for in.- stance atthebeginningof the run of the machine for anyextended'time, t e cam :rolljer-on lever-5B is li-tfitedentirely free-froingthe periphery of. cam 59 at all points, and the machine, therefore, con.- tinues-to operate until the handleverzhas"been moved and the disc reaches: the proper position .for stopping.

Accordingly, after the machine has been. started by pulling the hand lever in an outward direction, the cam shaft-5| and the cams thereon. continue to rotate, as well" as shafts 42, and 45.. and conveyor belt drive pulley" It.

The conveyor belt tightening and loosening pulley I8 isoperated as follows. This pulley- [8 (Fig. 6') is carried on an arm of -'a bell cranklever Bil, suitably fulcrumed on the frame or bed. of the machine, the other armof which carriesa cam roller 62 engaging the cam track 63 on one face or side of cam disc fill which is mounted on; shaft 5! midway of" the shaft and machine.

Thus, when. the cam roller engages the high point of track 53 on cam 64, the pivoted idler roller I8 is swung over to tighten the conveyor belt around the conveyor drive pulley; l5 and thus ,tostart up the belt gradually, and: when the cam roller again passes to the lower part of the cam track, the belt gradually comes to a stop by the loosening of the idler pulley. This, of course, occurs butonce in the revolution of :the camshaft and causes the belt to shift the empty containers intothe fillingv position and the filled containers out of it and'then to remain quiescent with the containers resting thereon during the filling and packing. The: conveyor belt also passes over another idler pulley- 11, which may be adjusted to vary the belt tension. These idler pulleys cause the conveyor belt to pass near-1y or substantially around the entire circumference of the drive pulley, thus giving it increased surface contact, greater tractive force and a more positive driving action on the belt than the ordinary belt and pulley action or-drive.

The other face of this cam 64, whichis shown in Fig. 6A, has a cam track 65in which is located the cam roller 66. This roller is mounted on a vertically movable fork member 61 attached to the horizontal bar 38 carrying the rods '36, the upper ends of which are secured, as before explained, to the drop spouts 33. The: upper end of this fork member 6? islaterally offset, as at 68 (Fig. 3):.

,As the cam 64. revolves, the high part ofthe earnv track; 6.5;1ifts: up. the roller 66 together-with the; dropvspouts; and the low part of the track drops the. spouts into: the ontainers as above explained.

' wheels.

On the same cam shaft the large gear wheel 50 is secured and drives it. The wheel itself is driven by the gear pinion 49. This gear wheel is also the crank disc for the operation of pitman rod (Fig. 3), the lower end only of which is shown in full lines, which reciprocates the packing plungers 2| of the packing and filling mechanisms above. The lower end of this pitman rod Ill acts in its rotation with the wheel 5t as a cam for operating the star wheel stops, as Will now be explained.

The star wheels 25 (see Fig. 7 also) are mounted at the upper ends of two vertical shafts H suitably journaled in brackets secured to the framework of the machine, as indicated. A lateral arm 12 at the lower end of each shaft TI is adapted to be engaged by a pivoted hook 13 to stop the rotation of the shafts and star This occurs when the containers are all in their filling position. These hooks 13 are simultaneously raised to free the star wheels by link bar M connecting them. Link bar 14 is connected at each end with an arm on the pivot of the hook or is connected directly therewith, so that movement of the link in one direction will raise the hooks to release the star wheels simultaneously and a movement in the other direction closes them or restores them to the path of the arms 12 on the star Wheel shafts so that both star wheels are stopped simultaneously. These hooks are automatically raised in timed relation with the other parts. A rod or arm 15 is rotatively secured to the hook 13 at the adjacent or control handle end of the machine and has as its other end bent or upwardly bowed as at 16 and standing in the path of movement of the crank pin or lower end of pitman rod 10 on gear 50, which is journaled on said crank pin. When, therefore, in the rotation of this wheel 50, the end of pitman rod it strikes said upwardly bowed portion 16 of lever arm 15, the latter is depressed and the hooks 13, are raised and the star wheels 25 are free for rotation. The hooks are then lowered again under the influence of tension spring H to engage the arms 12 on the star wheel shafts to stop the same at the end of a complete revolution.

The bed frame of the machine may include two longitudinal channel ironmembers secured therein, and the various shafts and other parts mentioned are suitably secured thereto and to the frame as indicated in the drawings. A'removable sheet-metal cover 18, in two like parts, having top, ends and a side each, covers and encloses the mechanism on each side of the bed channel of the conveyor, to protect the mechanism in the base from dust and dirt from above and contact therewith.

When the containers are filled, the conveyor belt gradually starts up by the efiect of the raised portion of the cam track 63 on cam disc 64 in pushing the idler roller I8 into the belt and therefore tightening it around the continuously rotating belt drive pulley l6 and the star wheels 25 are freed for rotation by the striking of the end of pitman rod 10 of crank disc or gear wheel 50 against the end of the lever arm I5 and the consequent lifting of the hooks 13 at the lower end of each star wheel shaft H.

Thus the eight containers with the filled and packed product in them are moved out of the machine, this being insured by the continuously driven roller 26 above, and eight empty containers are brought in at the same time for the next group to be filled. The operation of the 8 machine is" under control of the operator or attendant at all times through the handles 0r levers 55. Further description of the operation is deemed unnecessary.

Of course, the supplying of the empty containers to and the removal from the machine of the filled containers, whether done by hand or by automatic mechanism, is not a part of this invention and therefore not shown or described. Usually, however, the machine is placed in a production line where the containers are fed automatically to and from the machine by suitable conveyors. The adjustments necessary to adapt the machine to different containers and products are obvious and may be carried out by those skilled in the art.

It will be apparent that the invention may be varied in its physical embodiment without departing from the spirit of the invention, and it is desired, therefore, that the invention be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine for filling containers with comminuted material comprising a supporting framework, a horizontal passageway formed in said framework for the passage of containers therethrough, an endless flat surfaced conveyor belt in the machine with its upper flight forming the floor of said passageway and carrying the containers uprightly and in serial contact thereon through said passageway, container-filling mechanism in the machine over said passageway intermediate the ends thereof'having provisio for simultaneously filling a group of said containers,

- a continuously operated friction drive pulley in the base of the machine, the lower flight of said conveyor belt passing in a loop thereof substantially around said pulley to drive the belt, a belttightening and loosening idler pulley for the belt at said loop, and control mechanism for said idler pulley operating in timed relation with the filling mechanism to tighten or loosen the belt on said drive pulley and gradually to start and stop the belt in the filling position, the containers remaining stationary on the stopped belt while the group is being filled at the filling position.

2. A machine for filling'containers with comminuted material comprising a supporting frame work, a horizontal passageway formed in said framework for the passage of containers therethrough, an endless fiat surfaced conveyor belt in the machine with its upper flight forming the floor of said passageway and carrying the containers uprightly and in serial contact thereon through said passageway, container-filling mechanism in the machine over said passageway intermediate the ends thereof havin provision for simultaneously filling a group of said containers, a continuously operated friction drive pulley in the base of the machine, the lower flight of said conveyor belt passing in a loop thereof substantially around said pulley to drive the belt, a belt-tightening and loosening idler pulley for the belt at said loop, and control mechanism for said idler pulley operating in timed relation with the filling mechanism to tighten or loosen the belt on said drive pulley and gradually to start and stop the belt in the filling position, the containers remaining stationary on the stopped belt while the group is being filled at the filling position, said container filling mechanism including drop sprouts engaging the top of the containers and holding them in filling position during filling, and a flat 9 bed underlying and supporting the said upper flight of the conveyor belt through the machine and filling position.

3. A machine for filling containers with comminuted material comprising a supporting framework, a horizontal passageway formed in said framework for the passage of containers therethrough, an endless flat surfaced conveyor belt in the machine with its upper flight forming the floor of said passageway and carrying the containers uprightly and in serial contact thereon through said passageway, container-filling mechanism in the machine over said passageway intermediate the ends thereof having provision for simultaneously filling a group of said containers, a continuously operated friction drive pulley in the base of the machine, the lower flight of said conveyor belt passing in a loop thereof substantially around said pulley to drive the belt, a belt-tightening and loosening idler pulley for the belt at said loop, and control mechanism for said idler pulley operating in timed relation with the filling mechanism to tighten or loosen the belt on said drive pulley and gradually to start and stop the belt in the filling position, the containers remaining stationary on the stopped belt while the group is being filled at the filling position, said container filling mechanism, including drop spouts operated to engage and hold the containers in filling position during filling and packing plungers for pressing the material down in the containers when standing on the belt in filling position, and a flat bed underlying and supporting the said upper flight of the belt through the machine and filling position.

4. A machine for filling containers with comminuted material comprising a supporting framework, a horizontal passageway formed in said framework for the passage of containers therethrough, an endless flat surfaced conveyor belt in the machine with its upper flight forming the floor of said passageway and carrying the containers uprightly and in serial contact thereon through said passageway, contained-filled mechanism in the machine over said passageway intere mediate the ends thereof having provision for simultaneously filling a group of said containers, a continuously operated friction drive pulley in the base of the machine, the lower flight of said conveyor belt passing in a loop thereof substantially around said pulley to drive the belt, a belttightening and loosening idler pulley for the belt at said loop, and control mechanism for said idler pulley operating in timed relation with the filling mechanism to tighten or loosen the belt on said drive pulley and gradually to start and stop the belt in the filling position, the containers remaining stationary on the stopped belt while the group is being filled at the filling position, star wheels at the side of the said passageway at the entrance and exit of the container filling position therein, said star wheels being engaged and rotated by the containers as they are carried along on the belt, a stop mechanism for the star wheels operated independently of the belt but in substantial timed relation therewith positively to enforce stopping of the containers in filling position, said stop mechanism having provision for releasing the star wheels for movement of the containers by the belt at the completion of the filling operation.

5. A machine for filling containers with comminuted material comprising a supporting framework, a horizontal passageway formed in said framework for the passage of containers therethrough, an endless flat surfaced conveyor belt in the machine with its upper flight forming the floor of said passageway and carrying the containers uprightly and in serial contact thereon through said passageway, container-filling mechanism in the machine over said passageway intermediate the ends thereof having provision for simultaneously filling a group of said containers, a continuously operated friction drive pulley in the base of the machine, the lower flight of said conveyor belt passing in a loop thereof substantially around said pulley to drive the belt, a belttightening and loosening idler pulley for the belt at said loop, and control mechanism for said idler pulley operating in timed relation with the filling mechanism to tighten or loosen the belt on said drive pulley and gradually to start and stop the belt in the filling position, the containers remaining stationary on the stopped belt while the group is being filled at the filling position, a pair of star wheels at the entrance and at the exit of the container filling position of said passageway engaged and rotated by the containers on the belt as they pass along, one wheel of each pair engaging the containers near the bottoms thereof and the other spaced above and engaging the bodies ofthe containers, a stop mechanism for said star Wheels operated independently of the movement of the belt but in substantial timed relation therewith to ensure proper positioning of the containers in filling position, said stop mechanism having provision for releasing the star wheels for rotation upon completion of the filling operation.

JOHN L. FERGUSON. RICHARD C. TALBOT.

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